An American tourist was was gored during a bullfighting festival in western Spain and is recovering in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Salamanca, the New York Daily News reported.

Benjamin Miller, a 20-year-old from Georgia, underwent a three-hour operation to repair damage to thighs, sphincter and back muscles, surgeon Enrique Crespo said. He had been gored and tossed by a large fighting bull on Saturday during first day of nearby Ciudad Rodrigo's Carnaval del Toro.

Footage showed Miller being repeatedly tossed by the animal and in obvious pain at being gored and pushed along the ground, The Associated Press noted. Helpers eventually managed to pull him up from the street. Two unidentified men -- a Scot and a Spaniard -- also sustained injuries on Saturday.

"(Miller's) not the worst injury I've seen, but it's the biggest goring wound I've ever had to operate on," said the surgeon, whom town councilor Pedro Muñoz called "a world-renowned expert."

Between 45,000 and 50,000 people had attended this year's four-day event in the small cathedral city close to the Portuguese border, which includes afternoon bullfights and bull-running events, Muñoz noted.

"We have a medically equipped helicopter on standby every day of our annual fiesta," the councilor said.

A spokesman from the Salamanca's Clinic Hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with hospital rules, told NBC News Miller sustained several wounds, including a 16-inch goring in the thigh. The American was out of danger and not likely to have to undergo any further surgeries.

Fiestas featuring bulls are common in Spain even though many participants suffer injuries each year. The most famous example of this ancient tradition the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, which is held annually July 6-14.

The apparent origin of the tradition comes from the need to transport the bulls from the off-site corrals to the bullrings. Hundreds of people test their bravery and speed by dashing ahead of bulls through the streets to a town's ring.